By Adrian Stewart Co

Jarvey Gayoso went on a goal spree as Azkals Development Team walloped Mendiola 1991 Football Club, 9-0, in the 2021 Copa Paulino Alcantara on Saturday night at the PFF National Training Center in Carmona, Cavite.

The former Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles standout went berserk with five conversions as the Azkals Development Team clinched the second and final semifinals seat.

Dennis Chung, Christian Rontini, Mar Vincent Diano, and Sandro Reyes added to the national squad’s domination with a goal each as they bounced back from their loss to Kaya Futbol Club-Iloilo a week ago.

“We all did our parts,” said Gayoso. “We wanted to keep working hard no matter what the scoreline was. It was a do-or-die match so we had to make sure that we got the win.”

“We wanted to bounce back. We had a lot of guys who were struggling mentally since we came off a loss against Kaya but at the same time, we wanted to pick ourselves up and make sure we do our best in this game,” he added.

Gayoso opened the scoring for the Azkals Development Team when he converted a penalty at the 16th minute. The lead was quickly doubled as Chung knocked one from close range at the 29th minute.

Rontini and Diano each scored headers off set-pieces at the 33rd and 35th minutes respectively, before Gayoso closed the opening half with a close range hit at the 38th minute.

Gayoso continued his rampage in the second half with a header at the 52nd minute, penalty kick at the 72nd, and strike at the 73rd before Reyes closed out the scoring with a 76th hit.

“We addressed all the mistakes we made during that game (against Kaya),” said Azkals coach Jovanie Villagracia. “We’re very happy with the result and we’re looking forward to the next match against Stallion.”

The Azkals Development Team will face Stallion Laguna Football Club in the one-game semi-finals tomorrow. The other match features Kaya Futbol Club-Iloilo and Dynamic Herb-Cebu./ASC, WDJ